Unsolicited phone calls are an increasing problem for consumers. The National Do Not Call Registry was established with an intention of giving U.S. consumers an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls they receive, but has in general not proven effective in limiting the number of unwanted phone calls received by consumers.
Currently, some telephone service providers offer very limited call blocking features that allow for blocking selected callers based on Caller ID. Lately, telemarketing callers are circumventing these filters using techniques such as Caller-ID spoofing and number rotation. Caller-ID spoofing is used for scamming purposes, for example to take advantage of elderly victims, or to have victims believe that they are receiving calls from their credit card company or financial institution. Additionally, the traditional “blacklist” can anger callers with malicious intent, placing stalked victims in greater danger.
The purpose of various aspects of this invention is to give a user complete control over how each incoming call is handled, in order to optimize telephone service privacy.